Windsong Fjord Where Are You Now?

ooc: 8/29/15 - 8/30/15, late night to early morning. This was written with the intent that it could stand either as a read-only interlude or as the beginning of a random encounter thread. Therefore, anyone who would like to come interact with Kenelm is welcome to do so, but if you simply want something heartbreaking to read, you can do that, too. :D

---

Find her.

That was the only thing that mattered right now. That was why the man kept moving, though his paws ached and his legs shook with every step. His sides were thinned now, not as full as they had been – that did not matter to him. Rabbits and squirrels and toads and the odd mouse kept him alive, kept him strong enough to keep searching for her. Streams and the lake he had passed not long ago kept him watered well enough.

Her scent was here, always just in front of him, leading him ever onward through alien lands. Of all his siblings, it seemed it had always been his youngest who had been the most likely to wonder off, the most likely to get herself into trouble by not simply staying put when she was lost. Now the same was true again; had she only stayed a day longer after the fire, they could have made the exodus away together. They could have faced the world ahead together, like they always had before.

Where are you? He wanted to call at the top of his lungs for her – but those were still raw from the smoke, though they grew stronger again every day. If he had the energy, he would run these miles after her; he certainly had the will. We should have left together! Where are you?!

He lowered his head for a moment in frustration – and froze, staring in bewilderment at the ground before him. Ahead lay a fjord... and the abrupt end of her trail.

No. No! No no no no NO...

He searched the bank; nothing. He crossed and searched the opposite bank – nothing there, either. Where was it?! Where had she gone?! She couldn't have followed the water; that was just stupid! Where was she?!

Water splashed around him, glittering as it flew through the air, blinding him, distracting him. He shook it away and raced ahead again, chest heaving, legs pounding with agony as they carried him up to the crest of a low hill, and caution be damned for a coward's ploy he howled, long and loud.

"Where are you?!" He choked on the air as it sanded against his still-raw throat, then shook his head and called again. "CALANTHE!"

He started forward, but his trembling legs finally failed him, buckling suddenly so that the ground came rushing up to slam unyieldingly against him. The wind left him on impact; it took him a moment to realize the whimper he heard through the ringing in his ears was the passage of air from his throat.

She was gone. Her scent, her pawprints were... nowhere. She was gone.

Weariness crashed over him like a wave, and he knew little else as merciful sleep took him away from the pain.

*

Silver eyes snapped open, then blinked against the ray of morning sunlight shining directly into them. With a growl, the gray-and-tawny wolf shoved himself to his feet and shook his pelt out, sending leaves and bits of twig scattering everywhere. Where was he...?

Where was Calanthe?

More of the detritus on the forest floor flew up behind the big wolf as he raced away again, up and down along the bank of the fjord. He'd lost her scent and decided to take a nap. She'd have his ears if she ever found out, and he would let her. He would tell her as soon as he found her, as soon as he found that lost scent trail and followed it to wherever she was now. She was a smart girl; she would be hiding somewhere during the hottest part of the day, and sleeping at night. She would hunt and perhaps move on in the morning and early evening.

He just needed to catch up with her and make sure she was okay – but where had she gone? He searched the fjord and the surrounding area as well as he could... but her scent was nowhere to be found. Even the end of the winding trail he had followed for so many days was beginning to vanish now; he was farther behind than he had realized.

But she must be nearby. He simply couldn't fathom anything less than that. If she wasn't nearby, then he wasn't anywhere near her, and she needed him – she couldn't survive on her own, she had hardly had any defensive training, she couldn't fight, she had never been involved in a hunt—

The man sat down with a huff and shook his head as if to clear the despair from it. He was acting like some frightened, helpless little pup! Who would he be able to help if he let himself lose his head now? Calanthe didn't need a frantic mouse chasing after her – she needed her big brother to find her.

Kenelm shook his head again and dragged himself onto his feet. Before anything else was done, he needed to find something to eat. His belly gnawed at itself with hunger; if he didn't find food soon, he would have to pick a direction to search on an empty stomach – which could be done, but was an unnecessary pain in the backside. No, he would hunt and eat, then decide on his next course of action.

(This post was last modified: Sep 02, 2015, 10:07 AM by Kenelm.)

With ash on the wind, I move forward...

Let's Cause Some Chaos